HD tracks

[Subdood]

Wondering is anybody using HD track to down load music ?
I use to but have not for a year or two, just checked site nothing much seems to have changed.
Is there other good down load sites?

[Antonmb]

I used to use hdtracks years ago, but for the last few years have subscribed to Qobuz Sublime, which, along with their streaming service, provides good discounts on downloads. I’ve been able to satisfy most of my download needs at a discount.

[audioguy3107]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

I used to use hdtracks years ago, but for the last few years have subscribed to Qobuz Sublime, which, along with their streaming service, provides good discounts on downloads. I’ve been able to satisfy most of my download needs at a discount.

Hi Tony, have you ever had the chance to compare sound quality between HD Tracks and Qobuz sublime with the same song/album? I'd be curious to know if or how big of a difference it would be. I've read great things about Qobuz and their quality.

- Buck

[Jack in Wilmington]

Originally Posted by Antonmb

I used to use hdtracks years ago, but for the last few years have subscribed to Qobuz Sublime, which, along with their streaming service, provides good discounts on downloads. I’ve been able to satisfy most of my download needs at a discount.

If there's something I'm looking for on vinyl and can't find it, I'll check HD Tracks. It's an easy way to listen to music because I can control everything from a smartphone app. once I have it downloaded. I'll check out Qobuz.

[Antonmb]

Originally Posted by audioguy3107

Hi Tony, have you ever had the chance to compare sound quality between HD Tracks and Qobuz sublime with the same song/album? I'd be curious to know if or how big of a difference it would be. I've read great things about Qobuz and their quality.



- Buck

I don’t think I’ve ever purchased the same album from both, but if they’re both selling the same download from a label, I can’t imagine why they would sound different.

[nicoff]

I bought several hi-Rez albums from hdtracks years ago. Today i can stream hi-Rez albums via Tidal/Qobuz /etc so I see no need to purchase downloads.

[Mouse]

I buy from HD tracks and yes, their library is disappointing. Some artists put out an album in hi res on hd tracks, then their next album isn't available in HD. I suppose there isn't enough money in it for the artist to care.

I also like 7 digital, they have some of the same, sometimes different offerings, prostudiomasters is another one.

[nicoff]

I once thought that HDTracks was going to be a great business. But then many so-called high def tracks were shown to contain no more music data than a regular CD and folks became suspect of which albums were really high def.

Then customers realized is that they too could convert ANY normal CD to high def including DSD on the fly (via HQPlayer for example).

And not long after that, both Tidal and Qobuz started streaming high def music for the same price as a regular CD subscription!

Next thing is that now you can take ANY of Tidal/Qobuz's 30 million CD-quality tracks and convert them to high def on the fly (thanks again to HQPlayer)!

So in just a few short years HDTracks's business model is upside down. Why pay for pricey downloads when in most cases you can do it yourself? Not to mention that it is a pain to have to download and mess around with large files.

[Mouse]

Nicoff, I'm not sure if what you're writing is true, but I've bought some real crap quality albums on HD tracks.

Creedance clearwater and Lynyrd Skynyrd have very low "dynamic range" of 4.
Al Green has songs where the record gets slow then speeds back up.
Some of the songs have skips like a scratched CD, but they're present in other albums too.
I've heard digital jitters in some songs, also present in other digital sources.

I've bought some great recordings from HD tracks and 7 digital too, but I can see why this isn't getting more steam.

[nicoff]

Originally Posted by Mouse

Nicoff, I'm not sure if what you're writing is true, but I've bought some real crap quality albums on HD tracks.

Creedance clearwater and Lynyrd Skynyrd have very low "dynamic range" of 4.
Al Green has songs where the record gets slow then speeds back up.
Some of the songs have skips like a scratched CD, but they're present in other albums too.
I've heard digital jitters in some songs, also present in other digital sources.

I've bought some great recordings from HD tracks and 7 digital too, but I can see why this isn't getting more steam.

Don't take my word for it please. Use Google and search sites like head-fi or computer audiophile. Many folks plot the graphical representation of so-called 'high def' files and compare them to the CD. Don't get me wrong, there are some real high def recordings but NOT ALL of those advertised as such actually are. Before you decide to buy a download, do your homework.